For immediate release: Apr. 27, 2003

EDMONTON – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has asked members to pause for a moment Monday to honour the memory of workers around the world killed or injured on the job – or who suffer from conditions that could affect their workplace safety.

AUPE members will particularly mourn the deaths of two of their own on April 28, the international Workers Mourning Day, said AUPE Vice-President Earl Thompson, Chair of the union’s Occupational Health and Safety Committee.

"We remember Edmund LeBlanc, who was killed in a workplace accident that could have been prevented," Thompson said. "And we also remember our sister Becky Wiebe of High Level for her important work for AUPE, and in the hope that workplaces can be made safer for people who like her have epilepsy."

Edmund Paul LeBlanc, 27, a member of AUPE Local 118/001, was working as a heavy-duty mechanic for the County of Strathcona on Nov. 25, 2002, when a transit bus he was repairing rolled forward and crushed him.

Wiebe, 32, a member of Local 001 and an AUPE activist, died Oct. 29, 2002, from the effects of an epileptic seizure in her home.

However, Wiebe’s death serves as a reminder to AUPE members and employers that co-workers need to be aware of the symptoms of epilepsy, and of simple measures they can take to make the workplace safer for people with the condition, Thompson observed.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that affects about one in 100 Canadians. It is caused by an excessive electrical discharge from brain cells that can result in seizures of varying frequency and intensity. Epilepsy has many forms, causes and contributing factors.

Many Canadian workers with epilepsy are safely employed in a wide range of jobs. Medication can control epilepsy, or even completely eliminate its symptoms. Still, worksite awareness is essential because even small seizures can contribute to serious accidents.

Thompson noted that employees can be trained to recognize the onset of a seizure and to take steps to provide a safe environment for the individual during a seizure. Even simple precautions such as moving obstructions near the individual may prevent serious injuries.

In addition, he said, education about epilepsy can remove stigma associated with the disorder and ease feelings of embarrassment and uncertainty among co-workers.

Awareness about epilepsy is an important worksite education issue, said AUPE Union Representative Grace Dykau, a specialist in occupational health and safety issues.

Procedures and training for dealing with epilepsy in the workplace can be applied to make jobsites safer for people with other common medical conditions, Dykau added.

Employers need to be receptive to training employees about how to deal safely with common medical conditions, Thompson said, explaining that some employers treat safety training only as another cost item. "Cost should not be a criteria when it comes to employee safety."

Thompson added that many employers are simply unaware of the issue. "It’s important for employers to realize that short-term training costs can mean long-term savings in reduced WCB costs, employee absences and so forth," he said.

"Worksites with health and safety committees have fewer accidents," added Dykau, noting the important role played by unions in workplace health and safety.

"Over the past 25 years, unions have raised health and safety issues to where they are today," Thompson agreed.

If possible, AUPE members are asked to pause for one minute of silence in their workplace at 11 a.m. on Monday to remember the more than 800 workers across Canada, including 101 in Alberta, who died on the job last year.

The Canadian Parliament passed the Workers Mourning Day Act in 1991 to officially recognize the sacrifice by working people killed or injured on the job. The day is now marked each April 28 in about 90 countries worldwide.

For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
Earl Thompson, Vice-President, AUPE, 780-3382 or 780-405-4399 (cellular phone)
Grace Dykau, Union representative, AUPE, 780-930-3343
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone)